The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) medical student group at UNC held a Spring event at the end of April focusing on connecting female medical students with surgeons and residents to discuss what it means to be a female surgeon today.
The event was made up of 16 medical students and 16 female surgeons who came together over wine and cheese to discuss life as a female surgeon. This was an opportunity for female medical students who are considering pursuing surgery to meet with female faculty and residents. They had a chance to sit and discuss the benefits of a career in surgery as women, as well as the challenges and how to overcome them. The event was hosted by Brooke Namboodri and Imani Abrahamsen, AWS Co_leaders, co-hosted by Dr. Melina Kibbe, and the Association of Women Surgeons Faculty Advisor is, Arielle Perez, MD.
At the beginning of the night, the students and doctors mingled and introduced themselves before breaking up into “small groups.” The small groups were composed of a mixture of students, residents, and attendings. In these small groups, everyone re-introduced themselves and spoke a little bit about their interests and/or career paths (in the case of the surgeons). After this break-out session, everyone came back together for an informal panel. The attendings and residents answered questions about balancing their work-life with families, why they chose surgery, and how they chose UNC as the right program to train.
“Overall, the event was an awesome success! I think students walked away feeling inspired and reminded that the words “surgeon” and “woman” are not mutually exclusive. We are looking forward to hosting more of these events and are so appreciative of the incredible network of female surgeons who were willing to give up a night with their friends and families to meet and inspire a group of young medical students!” – Brooke Lee Namboodri, AWS Co-Leader.